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For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Psalms 74:12 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
  • BSB Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.
  • NKJV For God is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
  • NASB ¶Yet God is my King from long ago, Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
  • NLT You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Despite the ruin, Asaph affirms that God is his King from of old, working salvation throughout the earth.

Overview

The lament pivots to confident confession: God has always reigned and continues to work deliverance. This declaration of God's ancient kingship anchors hope amid devastation. The God who has long worked salvation in the earth brings it to its climax in Christ, the eternal King who accomplishes everlasting redemption (Luke 1:68-69).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Isa 33:22For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
  • Ps 44:4Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
  • Exod 19:5–6Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
  • Num 23:21–22He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
  • 1 Sam 19:5For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
  • Isa 63:8For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
  • Exod 15:2–15The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
  • Hab 3:12–14Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
  • Judg 4:23–24So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 74:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 74:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.